Milli Vanilli: remember the pop music scandal that ended in death

In the late 1980s, the duo formed by Frenchman Fabrice Morvan and German Rob Pilatus, known as Milli Vanilli reached the top of the charts in the USA with her debut album “Girl, you know it’s true”.

Their sudden success saw the two take home the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1990, but their dream come true was short-lived.

A few months later the duo was forced to return the award after German producer and Milli Vanilli manager Frank Farian revealed the truth to the press: Fabrice and Rob did not sing a single note of their songs.

The scandal made the two the first artists to return a Grammy in the history of the awards, and culminated in Rob’s death in 1998.

Rise and fall

In a 2018 interview with the BBC, Fabrice said that he and Rob signed the contract with Frank Farian’s record label without reading its contents, interested in the payment in advance, and only later discovered that they would have to lip-sync, while other singers would record the real vocals.

In debt to the record company, the two decided to embark on Farian’s idea, and a few years later they had the Grammy for New Artist in their hands.

Although Milli Vanilli had some of the most listened to music in the world at that time, rumors that Rob and Fabrice were playblack began to circulate in the music world.

In November 1990, months after winning the Golden Gramophone, Frank Farian revealed the truth at a press conference. According to him, the reason for the revelation was that Rob and Fabrice insisted on singing with their voices on the duo’s second album.

Tragic ending

The two had to return the Grammy they had won and, even trying to continue their career without using playback, Milli Vanilli’s reputation was already tarnished.

Eight years after the scandal, Rob was found dead in a hotel in Germany. According to authorities, he suffered an accidental overdose caused by mixing alcohol and medication.

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